WNPJ state candidate survey: Questions and responses

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), a coalition of 173 member organizations from across the state, conducted its first-ever candidate survey this year. WNPJ is a non-partisan, non-profit organization and does not endorse candidates.

The survey questions -- which reflect WNPJ member groups' state policy priorities -- asked candidates whether they support maintaining restrictions on new nuclear reactors, requiring background checks for all gun sales, issuing drivers’ cards regardless of immigration status, restoring voting rights to felons after incarceration, and requiring the Governor to ensure that any federal orders to deploy the Wisconsin National Guard are lawful.

The table below lists all candidates for state office who responded, and their responses.

Candidates were also encouraged to provide additional information about their stance on these issues. For those who did, their comments can be accessed by clicking on their names. All additional candidate comments can also be read by clicking here: Candidate comments. Survey questions are listed on this page, below the table. Particular questions can be quickly accessed by clicking on the table heading for each question.

2010 WNPJ candidate survey questions

Before a new nuclear power reactor can be built in Wisconsin, current law requires that the Public Service Commission find that it makes economic sense for state ratepayers and that a federal waste repository will be available to handle high-level radioactive waste from the plant.

Do you support or oppose maintaining the current law on licensing requirements for new nuclear reactors?

Under Wisconsin law, prospective gun purchasers are required to show identification and undergo a criminal background check only when purchasing a gun from a licensed firearm dealer. Unlicensed dealers and individuals sell approximately half of all guns in Wisconsin.

Do you favor closing the loophole that allows gun buyers to evade a criminal background check when they purchase a gun from an unlicensed dealer or individual?

A 2005 change in Wisconsin law tightened the standards for the issuance of drivers’ licenses to require that any applicant for a driver’s license or identification card must present documentary proof that the person is either a United States citizen or legally present in the United States. Federal law allows states to also implement an alternative driving certificate as long as the certificate is different in color or design from a regular license and indicates on its face that the license may not be accepted by any federal agency, as federal identification, or other official purposes. Many local law enforcement officials around the state, as well as Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association and the Wisconsin Troopers Association, support the issuance of a driver’s card based on their concerns about the threat to public safety posed by the large increase in unlicensed drivers in our state caused by the 2005 change in licensing standards.

Do you support or oppose Wisconsin issuing a driver’s card, as permitted under federal law, that could not be used for federal identification purposes but would serve as limited purpose driver's licenses for undocumented and legal immigrants whose cases are pending with immigration?

Wisconsin law bars individuals with felony convictions from voting while incarcerated and while on probation, parole or extended supervision. Of the over 42,000 disfranchised Wisconsin citizens, more than 75% live outside of Milwaukee County. Other states are reconsidering their restrictions on voting rights. In 2006 Rhode Island, whose law was similar to Wisconsin’s, enacted legislation to restore voting rights upon release from incarceration. A bill introduced in the last legislative session, the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act, would restore the right to vote to individuals immediately upon release from incarceration, returning voting rights to men -- and, increasingly, women -- from all walks of life, races, religions, and political backgrounds who have been deemed safe enough to return to our communities, but continue to be barred from the ballot box.

Do you support or oppose legislation to restore the right to vote immediately upon release from incarceration?

Some constitutional experts have raised questions about the legality of federal orders for deployment of National Guard troops overseas, especially to Iraq, arguing that the basis for the 2002 Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq -- to secure Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and to remove Saddam Hussein from power -- has expired and Congress never voted to reauthorize the mission to Iraq on any other basis. Wisconsin currently has no process in place to respond to questions about the legality of a Guard deployment and to protect Wisconsin Guard troops from future unlawful deployments.

Do you support or oppose legislation that would require the Governor to review all federal orders for deployment of the Wisconsin National Guard and to refuse any deployment determined to be unlawful?